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Farley said forward sales for 2013 have topped the £1billion mark for the first time since before the market crash in 2007.

The
firm will pay investors 75p a share in June as part of its plan to
return £1.9billion to shareholders over nine-and-a-half years to 2021.

Farley,
who will be replaced as chief executive by managing director Jeff
Fairburn, also brushed off the impact of the loss of Britain’s
gold-plated AAA credit rating.

He
said record employment of close to 30million and access to mortgages
‘are the critical things people look at rather than whether we have
lost one point off our credit rating’.

But
he urged the Chancellor to do more to free up mortgage lending and
tackle red tape in the Budget next month to make it easier to build.
‘There are a lot of hoops we have to jump through for starting new
sites,’ he said.

‘It is hard work for our teams and any help on that front would be welcome.’

Bovis
sold 2,355 homes last year, up from 2,045 in 2011, and selling prices
increased 5 per cent to £170,700. The company proposed a dividend of 9p a
share.